• Keep in mind that the sales cycle is generally longer in Japan than in the US and Europe. Companies make their purchasing decisions prior to the budgeting process rather than afterwards.
• Building trust and credibility is crucial to success in the Japanese market. Customers tend to consider vendor-buyer relationships more as partnerships than in the US and Europe, so a customer-centric strategy is a necessity.
• Japanese technology buyers place a higher value on product quality than customers in the US or Europe. Service contracts are often perceived as a sign of a faulty product and are difficult to sell.
• Any product documentation that you can provide in the Japanese language is a plus.
• It’s a good idea to use a distributor when first selling into the Japanese market. Look for companies with strong domain knowledge, a solid customer base, and a business strategy in line with your own.